Russell,
might be worth grabbing a set of those tie rod lock nuts for your crosser...

They're only found on cars put together in Portugal and perhaps it's indicative of poorer quality control that instead of one locknut being fitted to each tie rod, our man in Mangualde used two lock nuts on each rear tie rod.

Iirc, they used to be a mandatory fitting for UK race cars, but would probably be more useful on any cars which were likely to have some, or all, of their wheels clear of the ground...

ken

i thought my car was pre Portugal (being early 88??)

Finally an answer!! Cheers Ken, I'd wondered why those 19mm nutes were there on both the Mehari and my D*lly.

James, weather this is right or not I don't know, but I keep the two 19mm nutes tightened together and use a 19mm spanner to adjust the tie rods.

While you're adjusting the height, it's really easier to clean the whole lot up with some wd40 and a wire brush and get the loops and knide edges out too, stick it all in some petrol to clean it up then put it all back together with fresh grease.

I did that last year, so when I was fiddling with the height this year it was much quicker and cleaner as it didnt involve an archaeological dig to find the tie rods!

In effect, then, that's a permanent equivalent of that adjuster tool - rather than lock-nuts. For use as lock-nuts, to prevent the adjusters slacking, they'd need to be tightened against the end of the knife-edge eye.

The UK market started getting cars from Portugal in mid '87 (though the Paris factory didn't close until February '88).

ok

well is there anyway i can find out for sure where my car was built

thanks for the advice sam ill do it when i get a chance!!

Open the bonnet & have a look for a 4 digit number stenciled on the left hand side of the bulkhead... It may've been painted over by now, but if it's still there type it in to this:

http://www.citroen.mb.ca/organr.html

that should calculate the exact date of build.

There's a whole bunch of other clues as to whether the car's Portuguese or French - the quickest and easiest is to look at the markings on the glass for the manufacturer. If it's "COVINA", it's Portuguese; if it's "ST GOBAIN", it's French.

If the front door hinges are painted the same colour as the bodywork, it's Portugese. If they're painted black, it's French. Apparently.

Not exactly When new, yes, but my Portuguese built 2cv has earlier doors with black hinges and French glazing.